A pregnant Sligo woman whose husband was deported hopes he can be granted residency
JACQUI CONWAY Adeyoe is due to give birth on August 6th. But unlike most expectant mothers it is very unlikely she will have her husband Samson Adeyoe by her side.
Samson was deported in February following rejection of his application for asylum by the Department of Justice. She is now fighting to get him back into Ireland for the birth and is hoping the Zambrano judgment will persuade immigration officials to give him residency.
“Samson is desperate to see his newborn baby. If he isn’t here it will make the bonding process much harder for him and the baby,” she says.
“The longer he is away the more difficult it will be for him to maintain his bonds with me and my four-year-old daughter,” she says.
Jacqui says she vividly remembers the day gardaí
and immigration officers came to take him away.
“They came to me house one day in January . . . A friend of Samson’s told them that I was pregnant but it didn’t make any difference,” she says.
Jacqui met Samson in a pub in Sligo in January last year and got into a relationship. They married nine months later in September.
“There is no point in letting love slip by,” says Jacqui, who shortly afterwards wrote a letter to the immigration authorities asking that they re-examine Samson’s case.
“Life has been very difficult for me since he was sent back to Nigeria,” she says.
“I’ve had my ups and downs. My emotions are all over the place, but I’m trying so hard to be strong for my daughter. Some families in similar situations have contacted me by Facebook and offered their support.”
She says she has contacted a solicitor who is trying to take a legal challenge. But getting a court date before the birth is looking difficult.
The Irish Refugee Council says for humanitarian reasons the department should consider fast-tracking their consideration of Samson’s case.
Samson, who contacted The Irish Timesfrom Nigeria by e-mail, says he has nothing in Nigeria and desperately wants to return to Ireland to be with his family.
“I wanna come back to be with my wife and child . . . I’m going mad here,” he says.